Money expert Martin Lewis is urging people to get back “hundreds” of pounds they may be owed by their energy firm.

The Money Saving Expert founder says energy firms are “sitting on £3billion of our cash” because of how Direct Debits work, and is urging people to check if they are owed money – and get it back if so. Though Martin didn’t name any specific firms, this will apply to anyone on a Direct Debit with firms such as British Gas, EDF, E.ON, Utilita and Ovo or Octopus Energy. The expert set out that due to the way the Direct Debit system works for energy, some people may find they re owed a lot of money back because their Direct Debit was set too high, and they didn’t use as much energy as their energy firm thought they would over winter.

At this time of year, heading into the summer, if you have a lot of credit on your account, you’ve probably overpaid and should ask for it back.

Martin tweeted: “Energy firms are said to be sitting on £3billion of our cash in Direct Debit ‘credit’. CHECK YOUR ENERGY CREDIT TODAY!

“It’s the perfect time as you should have min credit at this point in the cycle. Some will be due £100s back.”

Martin then added via his Money Saving Expert website: “Monthly Direct Debits aim to smooth out seasonal use, so you pay the same year-round.

“They estimate your annual usage and, usually, divide that by 12 so you pay the same each month. That means you build up credit in the lower-use summer, and use up that credit (or go into debt) in the higher-use winter.

“And we’re heading towards the bottom of the cycle, as late April and early May is usually when you’ve minimal credit/maximum debt before you start to rebuild it.”

He added: “My rough rule of thumb… over a month and a half’s credit right now is likely too much.

“Exactly how much credit you should be in depends on when you started with the firm, eg, those who started with a firm around this time of year will rarely be in debt if things work well.

“Yet as this is the low point, I’d suggest if your energy account is up to date and is more than a month-and-a-half worth of Direct Debits in credit, it’s worth considering getting some of that money back.”